Monday, October 19, 2009

Starting Over...Again.

On Friday I was told, "They're [things] just not working out..." and let go from my job. The job counter was up to a whopping 189 days though...which is encouraging. That was my longest un-interrupted stint of employment in 17 months.

On the surface, it looks terrible; there's no doubt about that. I cringe at my record over that time. Two firings, one layoff and one furlough. Ouch.

The first firing was self-inflicted. Not something I am proud of...I had interviewed, was offered and accepted a position with RevolutionMoney prior to that though, so you could say I was checked out or just looking for an easy escape. I still wish it had gone down differently but I can't change the past.

That self-inflicted would, combined with the most recent news, looks pretty bad for me as an employee.

Employee Oriented

Am I a team player?

Do I work well with others?

Am I a good employee?

Do I lie, cheat or steal?

Technical

Do I have technical skills?

How do I compare to my peers?

What is my skill level?

All perfectly valid questions for a potential future employer.

I should defend myself right?

I have no idea right now.

I think the best thing I can do right now is engage potential employers, answer any and all questions, as openly and honestly as possible, and hope for the best. I know the market isn't great right now...but I'll do what I need to do find a job.

I find myself envious of those who have been with companys for a long period of time. Amusingly, had I been a bit more patient, I would have probably found WellCare to be a nice home for awhile. I still have a lot of great friends from there I think mostly because they were my support system when Kate got sick.

I took the job at RevolutionMoney because it was a startup and offered an opportunity to do all kinds of really cool stuff. None of the "really cool stuff" came to fruition though and all of the people behind that push either left or were let go.

I had just gotten comfortable in my recent job, was in a bit of groove...but "things just weren't working out."

So I'm looking.

If you know anyone out there looking for a lazy Oracle developer/modeler/little dba, send them my way.

Hey batter batter! Keep swinging Chet. That grand slam is right around the corner. Forget about whether you're lazy, super-smart, really-really-competent or any other label descriptor floating around out there and just focus on the ball. That's how you get the descriptor-labels you really want! Shit, I KNOW you're a great ball player but you're not allowed to think about what I think. All you're allowed to think about is the ball!

focus on the ball...i remember reading stories about ted williams hitting in the batting cage prior to a game. the reporter would ask him questions and he'd just keep swinging away, oblivious to all that was around him, never hearing the reporter.

Because you cannot keep your mouth closed.I told you many times but you do not listen. And stop arguing with people.Your crazy head got so big ( better than Tom Kyte??? ).You do have tehnical knowledge but you have to deliver not just playing with cool features.This is best advice and now in writen form.And btw just advertise that you lost job again.That will help for sure.So now jump on Monster and get that job and keep ( you know the rest :) ).